Starship Asterisk*

[quote=De58te post_id=321985 time=1649612814 user_id=141631]
[quote=heehaw post_id=321981 time=1649590064]
Certainly easy to spot where we will have our permanently staffed base, and the path to follow to collect ice every day. Less clear is what the inhabitants will do with themselves every day. Gather rocks?
[/quote]

I would suggest build space telescopes in that permanently dark region and hunt for new exoplanets and or alien civilizations. I would guess that there is no man made light pollution there. Maybe even darker than at the Earth's South Pole. (I suppose they'd have to put black curtains over their habitat windows.) Even in the light areas which are not facing the Earth side they could build radio telescopes and listen for Seti. The side facing away from Earth would be blocked from stray radio waves coming from Earth.
[/quote]

Space is probably better. Gravity messes up the figure of a mirror.

[quote=De58te post_id=321985 time=1649612814 user_id=141631]
[quote=heehaw post_id=321981 time=1649590064]
Certainly easy to spot where we will have our permanently staffed base, and the path to follow to collect ice every day. Less clear is what the inhabitants will do with themselves every day. Gather rocks?
[/quote]

I would suggest build space telescopes in that permanently dark region and hunt for new exoplanets and or alien civilizations. I would guess that there is no man made light pollution there. Maybe even darker than at the Earth's South Pole. (I suppose they'd have to put black curtains over their habitat windows.) Even in the light areas which are not facing the Earth side they could build radio telescopes and listen for Seti. The side facing away from Earth would be blocked from stray radio waves coming from Earth.
[/quote]

That does sound like a really great idea.
Will have to tread carefully around the secret Chinese base, of course. :-)

[url=https://www.universetoday.com/155371/astronauts-are-practicing-landing-at-the-moons-south-pole/][b][i]Astronauts are Practicing Landing at the Moon's South Pole[/i][/b][/url]
Universe Today | 2022 Apr 08

[quote=heehaw post_id=321981 time=1649590064]
Certainly easy to spot where we will have our permanently staffed base, and the path to follow to collect ice every day. Less clear is what the inhabitants will do with themselves every day. Gather rocks?
[/quote]

I would suggest build space telescopes in that permanently dark region and hunt for new exoplanets and or alien civilizations. I would guess that there is no man made light pollution there. Maybe even darker than at the Earth's South Pole. (I suppose they'd have to put black curtains over their habitat windows.) Even in the light areas which are not facing the Earth side they could build radio telescopes and listen for Seti. The side facing away from Earth would be blocked from stray radio waves coming from Earth.

[attachment=1]SouthPoleShadows_LRO_960.jpg[/attachment]
Seems as though establishing a settlement there could be self
sustaining! with solar electricity; and constant water supply! Just
need a garden!
[attachment=0]hqdefault.jpg[/attachment]
Do not disturb; kitty is sunbathing! :lol2:

[quote=heehaw post_id=321981 time=1649590064]
Certainly easy to spot where we will have our permanently staffed base, and the path to follow to collect ice every day. Less clear is what the inhabitants will do with themselves every day. Gather rocks?
[/quote]

Gather ice.

Certainly easy to spot where we will have our permanently staffed base, and the path to follow to collect ice every day. Less clear is what the inhabitants will do with themselves every day. Gather rocks?

[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220410.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_220410.jpg[/img] [size=150]Shadows at the Moon's South Pole[/size][/url]

[b] Explanation: [/b] Was this image of the Moon's surface taken with a microscope? No -- it's a [url=https://www.lroc.asu.edu/posts/271]multi-temporal illumination map[/url] made with a wide-angle camera. To create it, the [url=https://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/about.html]Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft[/url] collected 1,700 images over a period of 6 lunar days (6 Earth months), repeatedly covering an area centered on the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_south_pole]Moon's south pole[/url] from different angles. The resulting images were stacked to produce the [url=https://www.lroc.asu.edu/posts/271]featured map[/url] -- representing the percentage of time each spot on the surface was illuminated by the [url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/in-depth/]Sun[/url]. Remaining convincingly [url=https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4043]in shadow[/url], the floor of the 19-kilometer diameter [url=https://www.south-pole.com/p0000097.htm]Shackleton[/url] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shackleton_(crater)]crater[/url] is seen near the map's center. The [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200206.html]lunar south pole[/url] itself is at about 9 o'clock on the crater's rim. Crater floors near the lunar south and north poles can remain in permanent [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190722.html]shadow[/url], while mountain tops can remain in nearly [url=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zlngRTDQMAk/hqdefault.jpg]continuous sunlight[/url]. Useful for [url=https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/]future outposts[/url], the [url=https://youtu.be/EA46nq6klPw]shadowed crater[/url] floors could offer [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101025.html]reservoirs of water-ice[/url], while the sunlit mountain tops offer [url=https://www.whatnextnow.com/home/solar/where-is-the-best-location-on-earth-for-solar-energy]good locations[/url] to collect [url=https://climatekids.nasa.gov/concentrating-solar/]solar power[/url].


[table][tr][td=left][url=https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220409][b]<< Previous APOD[/b][/url][/td] [td=center][url=https://asterisk.apod.com/view_retro.php?date=0410][b]This Day in APOD[/b][/url][/td] [td=right][url=https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220411][b]Next APOD >>[/b][/url][/td][/tr][/table]